into the wilds
by JosephineSilver
Summary: To seek out the Kyuubi so early on in the game held no true purpose in Madara's plan, and so he bides his time. Still, the seeds of hatred are down, and a clan meets its end in a world far different from what we are used to. Feat. unreliable narrators, political intrigue, and a more mentally balanced Team Seven (except for Kakashi, who's back story is the same as canon.)
1. Chapter 1

("you know, there's a chance our roles could have been reversed.")  
("unless you come to know the same pain, you cannot truly comprehend someone else, and even if you comprehend them, you may still not ever agree with them. that's the truth.")  
("you shouldn't judge people by appearance or by your own preconceptions.") 

_[|x|]_

 _ **The Uchiha, Their Downfall & The Mangekyo Sharingan**_ **; an Introductory Prologue  
** (alternatively titled; how the butterfly effect leads to the wanting of many nails)

|x|

 _History is a funny thing. They say it is written by the winners - and whether or not the 'they' in this equation is in fact the winning or losing side in any given conflict, I cannot say. The events of the past are never quite as clear cut-and-dried as the books would have you believe. When one recounts historical events one must be impartial, unopinionated and distance themselves from the people who lived within the past._

 _When it comes to history, emotion and human sentiment are little more than distractions. If one acknowledges the people who lived through the events of the past as more than statistics, one plays with the risk of getting lost within history, removed from the reality of ones own time, for is not reality merely a word for how one percieves the world that currently exists around them?_

 _However, even the best stumble and fall sometimes. And when this happens, one finds themself asking, "what if?"_

 _What if something had changed within the past to lead to a different recounting of history? Whether the change be small and seemingly insignificant, or large and obviously far-reaching,_ what if _the outcome had been different? What would time and life be like now? How would the changing of the past effect the present or the future?_

 _These are, of course, meaningless questions. What has happened, has happened, and what_ will _happen is exactly the same. The definition of 'past' is 'that which has already been to pass.' No-one man, woman, village or child, can change an even that has already happened._

 _However, one can't help but think to themselves, and imagine._ Maybe not in this world, _one muses_ , but maybe in the next.

 _On one side of the world, a butterfly flaps its wings, and on the other, a typhoon is brought to life. All actions have consequences. All actions have an equal and opposite reaction._

 _In one world, one path is followed, and history continues onwards._

 _In another, one takes a step off the beaten path, and heads into the unknown, and yet history, time - it still continues onwards._

 _For you see, our Lady Time, who rules over all, is a distant mistress, neither cruel nor kind. She simply_ is _. Humans, you must understand, do not matter in the larger scheme of things._

 _History only stops, fades, disappears, on the account of one thing._

 _Destruction._

 _They say that to the victor goes the spoils. In any given situation, the 'spoils' is the ability to pick up the pen and record whatever version of history you wish. However, if there are_ no _winners, only the charred remains of mutual destruction, what happens to history then?_

 _It simply ceases to exist, for all that the_ world _goes on. History and time are, after all, for all their power, human constructs, a way to catalogue our fleeting existences._

 _And maybe, a survivor, or one near death, looks over the smouldering wreckage that remains and thinks, "What if?"_

 _And possibly, as they close their eyes, they tell themselves, as comfort in their last moments, "Maybe in the next world."_

 _Their eyes slip shut, and a butterfly flaps its wings._

|x|

There was a scowl on the face of the young girl manning the counter of Konoha's prominent cloth store as Uchiha Mikoto handed over the precise amount of change needed for her purchases. Mikoto allowed a gentle smile to grace her face, holding back the snarl she could feel building within her.

 _Uchiha_ , the girl's face screamed. _Monster_.

"Well," she spoke as she gathered her purchases. "You have a good day now, Yuriko."

A small flinch, a widening of the eyes as the girl's breath quickened.

Mikoto mentally berated herself as she left the store. She knew the girls name because she had known her mother when she was younger - had attended to her birth as a kunoichi with medical training, however meagre. But now, she was no longer Suzume Mikoto - she was Uchiha Mikoto, matriarch of the clan that had been known as a bloodline of traitors since near the founding of Konohagakure.

 _Damn you, Madara,_ Mikoto thought to herself fiercly as she made her way through the streets of the village, head held high and ignoring the whispers, the way those around her shrunk back from her very presence. _You'd better be burning in hell_.

Mikoto had never known Madara, he was far before her time - even the truly ancient elders of the clan she had married into could not claim that particularly dubious 'honour' - but she, just as much as the others of the clan old enough to register and resent the villagers treatment of them, cursed that man every day of their lives.

He was, after all, the one who had set in motion the curse of hatred that had haunted the entirety of the Uchiha for far too many generations.

When Mikoto looked at her sons, she could not help but feel fear grip her heart - it seemed almost as if she had already lost Itachi to the darkness (whether that darkness was of Konohagakure or the Uchiha, she did not know, but her baby's eyes were already so cold and hard that even she, a retired but strictly trained once-jounin, flinched when their gazes met), and there was a terrible ache in her mind that Sasuke, her precious youngest baby, barely seven and always so full of life and laughter, would soon follow in his footsteps.

It was for this reason that she was glad that the sudden streak of Uchiha prodigies that had started with Shisui had seemingly ended with Itachi. For all that Sasuke felt inferior and struggled for the approval of Fugaku and the rest of the clan, as long as he remained at his current level of 'just-above-the-average-gennin-in-training-for-his-age,' he was safe. As long as he remained as he was, the village would have no reason to fear him as they did the others.

She had caught Sasuke staring at himself in the mirror in the entrance hall to their house multiple times, staring at his reflection in a mixture of self-loathing, concentration, and a complete lack of faith in whatever it was he was trying to achieve.

It had taken Mikoto a few days, but it had finally come to her what it was he was trying to do when she had seen him observing a friendly spar between Shisui and Itachi, and that same expression had appeared on his face then, with a scarily malicious darkness lurking under the surface of his gaze.

 _Ah,_ Mikoto had thought sadly, _the Sharingan_.

Mikoto, while she had not been born into a clan like the Hyuuga or the Uchiha, or even one of the more minor ones that had taken up residence within Konoha, did come from a long line of shinobi and kunoichi. She knew, objectively, the importance of a bloodline limit, and since marrying Fugaku, it had never been more impressed upon her.

But Itachi _had_ the Sharingan, so as far as she was concerned, Sasuke could be kept completely out of clan matters. After all, the Uchiha had their heir, and he was far stronger than they could have originally hoped for, considering Mikoto had been an outsider, rather than the distant cousin from one of the minor branches the elders of the clan had originally planned to marry Fugaku to.

When Sasuke had been born, Mikoto, exhausted but happy, had reached out an arm towards her new infant son, who was being held in the arms of one of the younger Uchiha girls. Just as she had adjusted him comfortably within her embrace, the door had opened, revealing her husband, her elder son, and one of the clan's elders - Mikoto had never bothered to place their faces to names.

While Itachi had shifted uncertainly on his feet, the first time Mikoto had ever seen her son act as such and the only time she had seen it since, a look of deep curiosity on his face, Fugaku had smiled warmly down at her.

And then, the elder had spoken. _A fine spare_ , he had said, and Mikoto's elation had plummeted as her blood turned to ice. _What?_ she had snapped out.

Fugaku had snapped a look at her, part warning, part consolation. _Now, now_ , he'd spoken to the elder. _Hiroshi, we had an agreement. Itachi for the clan, and Sasuke for Mikoto_.

Itachi, Mikoto's beloved, precious, firstborn baby, had stilled at his fathers words, a light in his eyes making Mikoto think he had understood the exchange perfectly, even at the age of six. Mikoto, for her part, had turned as frozen as the blood within her veins. Before she could compose herself enough to react, or enough to make a simple sound, Itachi had spoken.

 _Mother,_ he had said, always so formal and articulate, even at that age. _May I hold Sasuke?_

And, as if moving in a dream, Mikoto had stiffly handed her precious newborn over to her precious firstborn. Though still dazed by her husbands words, she _was_ a trained kunoichi who had once held jounin rank and survived as a teammate of _the_ Uzumaki Kushina. Though she had not picked it up at the time, reviewing over her memory of that incident at a later date, she could not help but despair at the mixture of love, determination and painful resignation within Itachi's gaze as he laid eyes on his little brother for the first time.

 _Don't worry, Sasuke,_ he'd whispered. _I'm here_.

And ever since that day, Itachi had devoted himself to his training, to his father and the clan. Mikoto had tried to give him the childhood she knew he deserved, but Fugaku, for however much she had loved him, and did still in someway, was a cold and ruthless man when he wanted to be. If Mikoto took Itachi out for dango or pocky, she would come home to see that Sasuke had learnt a new jutsu, or had been given a new kunai or shuriken, or had been given over to one of the elder's for a days lessons. The message was clear: _pick or choose. One for the clan, and one for you. You can't have both_.

So, Mikoto had reached deep, for that ability she had held during her time as an active jounin during missions, that ability to feel _nothing_ , to carve her soul into pieces and obliterate sections into ice.

She would save her youngest son - by damning her eldest to the fate of the Uchiha.

Once the decision was made, it was easy to ignore Itachi, to think _heir to the Uchiha_ instead of _my son_ when she encountered him in the halls. She did not deny him affection or treat him badly, but there was a definite distance between them now.

Itachi knew it. When they met in the compound or on the streets, and no-one else was around, Itachi would smile at her sadly. _How is Sasuke?_ he would ask, and Mikoto would commiserate over eyes no thirteen-year-old should have.

 _He's fine,_ she would answer, not mentioning the way Sasuke was slowly but surely being taken over by resentment and his own growing sense of inferiority, her fear that despite all her effort and Fugaku's and the elder's reasurrances, she would lose Sasuke to the clan anyway.

Itachi would close his eyes then, and tilt his head forward slightly, loose strands of hair falling into his face as his smile became something more gentle, real. _Thank you, mother_ , he would whisper before leaving, and Mikoto would freeze (everytime, she would freeze), trying to swallow the lump in her throat and hold back her tears, because despite what she liked to think, she knew was just as bad as the rest of the Uchiha, just as much of a monster, and she was a horrible excuse for a mother.

Just how long, she would wonder morbidly, as she stood where Itachi had left her and attempted to regain her composure, would it be until she met Uchiha Madara in hell?

|x|

"Mikoto!"

A voice, a female, familiar voice, called out her name, jerking her out of her reverie. Mikoto's feet knew the path from the main hub of Konoha to the Uchiha compound on the outskirts of the village like her eyes knew the back of her hand, each knick from a kunai and burn from a katon jutsu, so it was simple to allow her thoughts to overtake the forefront of her mind and let her body run on autopilot. After all, her senses, even after years of retirement, were finely honed and jounin level, making it easy to pick up on any threats that may be directed at her.

This, however, was not a threat.

"Kushina," she smiled, turning to greet her red-headed once-teammate. Etiquette, pretty much beaten into her by the female Uchiha elders she had been handed over to a month before her wedding with Fugaku, bubbled instinctively to the surface. "I haven't seen you in a while, how are you?"

Kushina blinked startled eyes at her, pausing in her way to intercept Mikoto's path. "Wow, Miko-chan," the wife of the Yondaime Hokage stated as she made her way over to Mikoto, who was frowning slightly at the nickname. "You don't need to be so formal, you know?"

The sound of Kushina's famous verbal tic leaving her mouth, seemingly unconsciously, brought a smile to Mikoto's face, relieving her mind, even if only for a moment.

"I know," she answered. "Force of habit."

Kushina grinned. "You know, I haven't seen much of Sasuke-chan lately. He's missing classes at the academy?"

It was only due to years of training that Mikoto held back a flinch, or restrained from tensing. Kushina was a particuarly skilled kunoichi, and add her status as jinchuuriki of the kyuubi on top of that, and pretty much nothing got past her. And while Mikoto and Kushina were friends - in fact, Kushina was probably Mikoto's closest, if not _only_ friend - they were also the Uchiha matriarch and the Hokage's wife. Kushina's eyes were narrowed, focused in on Mikoto's face, and that was when Mikoto knew - somehow, the governing council of Konohagakure, made up of all the daimyos of the region and several high up jounin from both ANBU and all around the Land of Fire, had heard word of whatever it was the Uchiha were planning to do. There had been whispers floating around the compound for a while, and out of a mix of fear and caution, Mikoto had taken to leaving Sasuke at home, safely sequestered within the walls of the compound. As much as Mikoto hated the idea of her son trapped there, surrounded by clan members while she ran errands, the idea of him falling into the hands of some disillusioned villagers was far, far worse.

So, Mikoto kept her face carefully blank. "Sasuke has been suffering some...difficulties, lately. I thought it best to keep him home while he recovered." A sheepish smile, carefully calculated to relax Kushina's guard however slightly as a hand rose to scratch at the back of her head, as if embarrassed. "And how is Naruto?" Mikoto attempted to turn the conversation over on Kushina.

"Oh, he's fine, you know?" Kushina smiled, leant forward. "He's picked up his own catchphrase, you know. Minato is trying to deny its existence, but between you and me, I think its cute."

Minato probably did too, but just wouldn't admit it, for fear that his son would get teased over it. Sasuke had told her about the blonde boy in his academy class - _about fifty, no, eighty, percent of what comes out of his mouth is followed by 'believe it,'_ he would scowl adorably, and Mikoto would giggle at her son. _Wow,_ she would respond teasingly, _would you believe that?_

It was at that point that Kushina's face lit with triumph, still so close to Mikoto, and the Uchiha woman felt cold sweat break out across her back at the predatory look spread across the other woman's face. "Ne, Mikoto," she whispered. "And what about Itachi-kun? Shisui has been showing up to the ANBU meetings, I hear, but Itachi hasn't even been taking missions, you know. Is he sick, too? Are you keeping him home, too?"

Mikoto blinked. With her self-imposed exile against her eldest son's presence, she had no idea what Itachi got up to. He was rarely at home, even though he was only thirteen, and Mikoto would be lying if she said that it wasn't easier that way.

Even as all these thoughts rushed through her mind, however, there was one truth she could not escape - she was a Uchiha, and Kushina, for all her warmth and friendship was an outsider.

The clan had to come first.

And so, she asnwered. "You'd have to ask the clan elders about that, Uzumaki-san," she stated, and ignored the brief flash of surprised hurt that flashed across Kushina's features at the cold address, there and gone. "Itachi is the heir to the Uchiha clan, and at this point in his development, there are some integral lessons he must learn." Mikoto was, of course, pulling this out of thin air. However, if Kushina or any of Konohagakure's council or ANBU operatives questioned any other Uchiha on the matter, that famous Uchiha arrogance would keep them from answering with anything except pride-swelled gusts of hot air and outrage.

Kushina nodded. "I see. Well, Uchiha-san," she said, "I should be going, you know?"

Mikoto tilted her head in non-verbal agreement. _Yeah,_ she thought, turning back towards the path that led to the compound, _I know_.

|x|

Itachi stiffened as he felt his mother's presence enter the house.

 _No_ , he thought, horrified. _No, no, no, not yet, please not yet_.

Within recent months, Itachi knew that he had slowly started breaking. He was running on barely any sleep and he no longer felt any desire to consume food - it was all ashes and sour milk curdling on his tongue, anyway.

 _The Uchiha are planning on making their move, soon_ , the village elders had said, and then Itachi was frozen, kneeling next to Shisui. _You must choose where your loyalties lie._

Shisui had answered unwaveringly, _I swore my fealty to our fair Konohagakure, and it is by her that my allegiance is held._

Shisui had seemingly yet to figure out that formal address and flowery language were not the same thing.

Once he had said his piece, the eyes of the elders had fallen onto Itachi, and though Shisui had not been looking at him, he had felt his cousins piercing attention fixated on him.

The most abominable of all the elders gathered there, Danzo, gazed unblinkingly at Itachi. _Well, boy?_ he had barked out.

Itachi, so composed and unflappable, had swallowed in tense fear. _My loyalty is to the village, of course_ , he had whispered dryly. _I will always do what is best for Konoha._

But now, what was best for Konoha was the eradication of his clan, otherwise civil war would break out. Itachi and Shisui both had been attempting to find a way to resolve the issues between the clan and Konoha that did not lead to bloodshed, and Itachi had thought they had finally found a way - _Kotoamatsukami_ , cast by Shisui on the clan elders in order to enforce the ideal ' _loyalty to Konoha_.'

Danzo, however, had not been something the two had counted on.

And he had _really_ wanted his massacre.

Itachi had been waiting for Shisui by the river, in the place where they had been meeting up with one another for about a month, when his cousin had stumbled through the tree line, bloodied and one-eyed.

 _Shisui,_ Itachi had breathed, panicked. _What -_

 _Itachi,_ Shisui had interupted. _Take my other eye. Keep it from Danzo - he took the first, he can't be trusted. And then, take from me the Mangekyo._

Itachi had frozen. His mind, body, his _everything_ , had _stopped_.

 _Shisui_ \- he'd protested.

 _No time,_ Shisui said grimly. _I can sense his chakra, searching for me. Hurry, Itachi! If you act now, maybe not everything will be lost - maybe we can still save something of the clan_.

Itachi had swallowed.

Had pulled out a kunai.

Shisui had smiled. _Thank you, Itachi._

Itachi took a deep breath, and failed to hold back tears. _Forgive me._

And now, the Mangekyo still burned in his eyes. His grief still so strong and painful and _new_ , he did not know if he could turn it off.

His mother was home - if she saw him, saw this, if she _knew_ -

\- but Itachi couldn't think of that. More than likely, his mother had sensed his presence within the house long before she had entered, probably not being distracted as he had. However, as much as he could tell his mother still loved him, in the past six years she had rarely sought him out.

Not that he was complaining. It was simply better that way, especially for Sasuke. Distance would help, especially with what Itachi would have to do within the next week or so - Danzo probably wouldn't hold much longer than that.

"Itachi?" His mother's voice echoed throughout the house. "Can we talk, please?"

Itachi stiffened. _What?_ His mother...his mother, who had taken the clans words to heart all those years ago, and focused almost solely on Sasuke, leaving Itachi to his father and the clan, wished to speak? Wished to speak _now?_

 _Why?_ Had she heard something? Put together that Itachi wasn't the loyal clan heir he acted?

Had she heard something about Shisui? It had only been a matter of hours since Itachi had done what Shisui willed, and the young ANBU captain hadn't expected anything to be discovered just yet, but there was always the possibility.

"Yes, Mother," he called back quietly. "I'll be down in a minute."

"No need, Itachi-kun," and Itachi _startled_ , both at the sudden appearance of his mother behnid him, and at the honorific. "I'm already here."

Itachi risked a glance at his mother.

Her eyes fixed directly onto his Mangekyo, and Itachi -

\- _hesitated_.

 _Use the Tsukuyomi!_ Something inside him screamed. _Make her leave, make her forget -_

But for all her failings, Mikoto Uchiha was still Itachi's mother, and was probably the only person on earth who loved Sasuke as much as he did. More than that, she _wasn't_ technically a Uchiha, and so Danzo and the council's order to _anhilate the clan_ did not apply to her.

She could - could be, maybe, an _ally_.

So, "Mother," Itachi breathed, as her eyes narrowed and took in his evolved Sharingan, "I need your help."

|x|

Kushina came home with a frown upon her face.

Minato sighed. "Your talk didn't go well, then?"

Her frown transformed into a scowl, which she then directed at her husband, who, despite being the Yondaime Hokage and one of the strongest living shinobi known among the Elemental Nations, could barely hold back a whimper.

His wife was _terrifying_ when she wanted to be.

"I honestly believe that Mikoto knows nothing," she sighed. "But she's always been obstinate, and without knowing the full scope of the situation, will likely side with the Uchiha. She's loyal like that - she made her vows to Fugaku, and she'll stick to them."

Kushina's voice as bitter, now, and Minato sent a quick glance upwards, in the direction of the room on the second floor of the house he could feel Naruto's small but strong chakra flickering within, before transferring his attention once more onto his wife. "You can't tell her, Kushina." He spoke gently. "And if I'm right about the elders movements, it might be best if she is not aware of what is to come."

A sniff, as Kushina threw herself onto the couch across from the armchair where he was positioned, her arm thrown dramatically over her eyes, her vibrant red hair a tangled mess around her. "You can't stop it, then?"

"Not even with all my power," he levered himself out of his chair, and knelt by his distraught wife, gently placing a hand on her arm. "The council has made their move, and the Uchiha _will_ answer in kind. Even if I can convince the council to back down now, the Uchiha have been planning this coup for a while, I think. They won't let go of it so easily." He hesitated, taking in the fine tremors that ran through Kushina. He was intrinsically intuned to her seal, which he could not feel shifting, so her emotions were not yet reaching through to the kyuubi, but that could change at any moment - Kushina had always been prone to outbursts of passionate emotion, and it was a huge part of what he loved about her, and his next words might tip her delicate balance. "I'll try, at least, to save the children."

Kushina gave a deep, shuddering gasp. "The council wouldn't -"

"The Uchiha are an old clan, with a powerful bloodline-limit in the form of a ridiculously dangerous dojutsu, and they start on their children young. The council argue that the Uchiha do not have children, merely blank canvas' waiting to be painted over."

Kushina lifted her hand from her face, and blinked wet eyes at him. "But they're so _young_."

"The youngest Uchiha is Uchiha Ayame, a girl of five from one of the branch lines. She is the age at which they start training the children, now, and already marriage contracts are being drawn up with a distant cousin. The council does not wish to risk it."

The elders on the council were the most dangerous of the lot - they had many connections and years of experience, but the rest of the council wasn't exactly helping. Minato had no idea of what had made the Konohagakure domain turn against the Uchiha so viciously, but various daimyo's (though he suspected they may have been bought off by Danzo or Homura), and the majority of the civilian elected representatives - the head of Konoha's Buissness Owners Association, the head of the Farmer's Union, the Land of Fire representative for the Elemental Media Co-op (who petitioned for complete freedom of speech every meeting; it had become a permanent item on the agenda, and was met with groans each time), and whichever Headmaster from one of the civilian academies that had drawn the short straw that particular month and ended up in attendance - had also spoken out unfavourably against the Uchiha.

The representatives for ANBU and both the Uchiha run MP force and civilian run DP force always remained silent when it came to opinions on the clan - ANBU for god knows what reason, the MP representative due to the lack of impartialilty, and the DP representative probably for police solidarity.

As hostilities rose, Minato could only be grateful that the Sandaime, over two decades ago now, had had the foresight to disband the Council of Clans into an informal gathering of various clan heads rather than the absurdly powerful cabinet of government it had been before. Clan heads could no longer take a direct hand in politics, and it was for that reason that Fugaku himself, as the head of the Military Police Force, was not in attendance at the meetings, and instead had appointed one of his captains to take the seat. If Fugaku _could_ attend, disaster (or bloodshed) would likely follow soon after. As it was, the MP Rep was still clearly reporting back on what he learned in these meetings, and the Uchiha coup was probably in part due to this.

Kushina let out a cry. "Mikoto's youngest son is only a few months older than our baby," she whispered, her haunted face creasing in pain as she shifted and turned so that her whole body faced him. "They're friends, according to Naruto. He's been so worried this past week, because Sasuke-chan hasn't been showing up to class."

Minato closed his eyes. Just a month or so ago, Naruto had declared his intention to become Hokage one day - _just like you, dad!_ He had exclaimed. Minato had smiled and laughed and told his son to work hard to reach his goal.

Now, he wished that Naruto would never achieve it.

"I'm sorry, love," he said. "But the few cannot come before the many."

"I know," Kushina's voice was hoarse, faint, and disturbingly empty. "I think I'll go to bed, now."

Minato bowed his head against her stomach, a silent plea emnating from him - for forgiveness, for absolution from this woman he all but worshipped, for reassurance that what he was doing _was_ the right thing.

Kushina lent over him. "You've already lived though one war, Minato," she told him, a hand coming up to cup the back of his head and stroke his hair. "There is no fault in wishing to prevent another."

"And our son will grow up safe," he vowed.

With a hum, Kushina agreed. "Our son, at least, will grow up safe."

|x|

Many hours had passed since Mikoto's talk with her eldest son, yet as she lay down to sleep, her head was still reeling.

Fugaku flicked off the lights before sliding into place beside her. As was his usual routine each night, he rolled onto his side, back facing her. It used to warm Mikoto that her husband, who was a paranoid man at the best of times, trusted her enough to turn his back to her. Now, though, she wanted to see his face - wanted to rove her eyes over the man she had fallen in love with and married despite all protests, see and discover if any of _her_ Fugaku still remained.

He must have felt her eyes on him, because he spoke. "You were unusually quiet this evening, Mikoto."

"I spoke with Itachi this afternoon," she said tonelessly.

Fugaku's shoulders shifted with his breath. "Oh?"

"Yeah, _oh_." She gritted her teeth against the tears that threatened to escape. "Fugaku, you and the elders - what the hell are you thinking?"

"We are thinking of our family!" He rolled abruptly to face her, and the hard lines and planes of his face, defined by his age but still as handsome as the day she had met him, were sharpened with anger. "Konohagakure despises us! We are discriminated against on the streets, feared and reviled! And still the council does _nothing_!"

"And what about our children, Fugaku? What about Itachi, and Sasuke?"

He blinked, as if stunned. "What _about_ Sasuke?"

Mikoto stiffened. "He's your _son_ , Fugaku, and you're talking about dragging him through civil war."

Fugaku relaxed slightly back into his pillows. "I'm paving the way for a greater future for the Uchiha. Sasuke will be fine, Mikoto."

Mikoto fell silent after that, staring at her husband in mute disbelief. Deciding the conversation was over, Fugaku once more rolled over.

"The Uchiha won't win this fight, Fugaku," Mikoto whispered quietly. "You're planning on going against the entirety of Konohagakure. Please, think of your sons."

"Itachi knows his duty, Mikoto. If you are so worried, then why don't you go running to your jinchuuriki friend? Take _your_ son with you, if you please - you have my word no-one will try to stop you."

Mikoto did not sleep for the rest of the night. Until dawn, when the sun peaked over the horizon and filled the room with the light of a grey morning, she stared sightlessly at Fugaku's back, Itachi's words echoing through her mind as she wondered, helplessly, just what had happened to that sweet chuunin boy who had been to scared to so much as hold her hand without blushing.

Once Fugaku roused himself from slumber and left - silently, without so much as acknowledging Mikoto, Itachi's presence made itself known in her doorway.

"Mother," he said, and waited.

Itachi had not called her 'mother' publicly for years - that was a title only for private, and Sasuke's ears. Among other members of the clan and the general public of Konoha, she was simply _Uchiha-sama_.

She swallowed. "Yes, Itachi?"

Mikoto could feel his hesitance, but still he obeyed her unspoken command. "Father left because he'd gotten a call - they've found Shisui."

Deep breath in. Out. In, out. _Breathe deeply, Mikoto_. "I see," she stated out loud. "And what will be your next move from here?"

"I will wait until after the funeral, I think, but not much longer than that," he said. "There are more factors in play here than just the Konoha council or elders. I must act swiftly, or else all will be lost."

"We, Itachi." Mikoto said firmly. " _We_ must act swiftly."

Her eyes flicked up to fix on her son, and he nodded slowly. "We, then." he agreed. "For Sasuke's sake."

|x|

Sasuke's first funeral was a quiet affair.

The past week had been a blur of panic, tears and confusion for the youngest Uchiha of the main branch. Shisui was gone, Itachi was suspected of taking part in it somehow, and mother and father were refusing to talk to one another.

Sasuke knew his mother was angry at his father for teaching him all those new katon jutsu - the special Uchiha techniques that had only ever been for Itachi, before. He didn't know why she was mad though - maybe because he had failed at producing the strong flames father had pushed him for? Itachi was ignoring him, too, locked up in his room and refusing to eat no matter how much mother pleaded and father barked orders.

 _He's grieving, Sasuke_ , mother had tried to explain.

Grieving, Sasuke had learnt, over Shisui.

 _He's dead, sweetheart,_ Mikoto had explained. Confused, Sasuke had denied her words and asked when Shisui was coming home.

 _Never,_ Itachi had put in darkly from his position in the doorway of the room, and when Sasuke whirled around to face his brother, he automatically recoiled into his mother's waiting embrace, whimpering and burying his face into the sweet smelling fabric of her white kimono, her mourning clothes.

Itachi's face had been entirely unrecognisable to Sasuke as that of his older brother. Itachi was blank and sometimes smiling in Sasuke's mind, never that mix of angry and loathing he had seen on his face then.

Honestly, at that moment in time, Itachi had scared him.

 _Come on, Sasuke,_ Itachi had spoken, face melting back into its default blankness once again. _I'll help you change_.

Even though Sasuke was only the second son, he was the second son of the main house, the head branch of the family, and a certain level of respect and formality was respected of him. Over three days had passed since they had found Shisui's body, and the clan was just now saying its goodbyes by holding its vigil - the police force had held the body until then, under suspicion of foul play, he had learned, because Shisui had been found without his eyes.

Father had been furious upon hearing this. _This is the last time,_ he'd snarled at the table, panicked children and stonefaced elders of the clan gathered round. _We will not take this insult lying down_. There had been a murmur of agreement, and stonefaced, mother had led Sasuke and his younger cousins from the room.

Now, smoke and ash that smelt nothing like wood burning, soot thick against the walls of his throat, were what made up Sasuke's world. His pure white mourning clothes were stained and speckled with grey, and streaked across his face, too.

Father was up front, leading the vigil as head of the clan. Beside him stood Itachi, in his rightful place as heir to the clan. Mother gripped Sasuke tight around his wrist and pulled him further into her side.

Sobs did not fill the air, though many, including Sasuke, were crying. ( _Shisui, Shisui_ , he thought.)

Instead, whispers and hisses flew through the crowd gathered, and though Sasuke paid them no mind, they made mother grit her teeth.

( _Now that we've lost Shisui of the Body Flicker, we have to pin all of our hopes on Fugaku's boy._

 _They took his eyes, and they call_ us _the monsters?!_

 _This is how it starts, isn't it? This is how they make their move against our clan, by picking us off one by one._

 _Konoha will pay for this._ )

Shisui burned, as Sasuke cried and Fugaku stared down into the blaze.

Next to him, Itachi glanced at his father out of the corner of his eyes, Magekyo burning with grief. He closed his eyes before anyone could see and register his changed Sharingan, and signalled his mother with a quick flick of his wrists.

 _Tonight,_ he signed subtly.

Mikoto's grip on her baby tightened, and she closed her eyes.

|x|

Kushina had been tense all day, since news of Shisui's funeral rites had reached her ears.

If Minato was to be believed, under the councils orders, it would happen tonight.

She had put Naruto to bed early, immediately after dinner, despite his protests, not wanting to look at him and think about what was happening tonight, in case he somehow read it off of her face.

She was just beginning to drift off when there was a knock at her door, and she jerked back into alertness.

Creeping forwards gingerly, her hand crept down to her thigh to the pouch where she always stored at least one kunai, and opened the front door of her house.

And blinked.

"Sasuke?" she asked, and yes that was definitely the little Uchiha standing on her doorstep, covered in blood.

"Mama told me to come here," he mumbled, and his eyes were wide and frightened, his skin pale.

Kushina relaxed her hand away from her weapon, and slowly reached out for the young boy. He was seven, only about three months older than her own son. "Are you hurt anywhere?" she asked in a quiet, gentle voice that she hoped was soothing.

He shook his head. "Not my blood," he whispered, before bursting into tears.

|x|

 _"Itachi-nii? What are you doing?"_

 _"Sasuke -"_

 _"You shouldn't be here -"_

 _"Don't come in!"_

 _"Mikoto! What is this?"_

 _"Itachi! Your brother!_ _ **NOW!**_ _"_

 _"Itachi, if you even think -"_

 _"_ _ **Mangekyo Sharingan**_ _."_

 _"ITACHI!"_

 _"_ _ **Tsukuyomi.**_ _"_

|x|

Mikoto gasped in pain as she flickered back into the room of the main house she had left her husband and oldest son in, chakra coils aching within her. Unlike the boy she had all but raised as another of her own, she had never been all that skilled with the shunshin.

Fugaku's eyes were hard on her, but it was Itachi that spoke. "Sasuke?" he said lowly, body tense and ready, not looking away from his father.

"Safe," Mikoto reassured him. "So go on, Itachi, it's time for you to leave."

Even though this had been part of the plan they had thrown together in the past few days, Itachi still hesitated, and Mikoto's heart ached for her sweet boy. How cruel was the world, to allow such a gentle soul to be born into such a clan?

" _Go_ ," she insisted. She could sense unfamilar chakra flickering around outside - slaughtering the innocents and children she and Itachi had spared. "Your partner in crime is here."

Itachi stiffened, and then - " _goodbye, mother_ " - he was gone, leaving Mikoto with her husband.

"Even you, Mikoto?"

His voice was gentle, like it had been when they were younger, and tears sprung into Mikoto's eyes. "This had to be done, for the good of our family, Fugaku. For our _sons_."

Fugaku sighed, and his eyes were closed when she turned to face him. "When I said that I wanted to marry you," he began, "and not a girl from within the clan, there was outrage. 'That outsider will be the death of our clan,' they had told me. I insisted that you would be the best thing to ever happen to the Uchiha, but maybe I was just young and stupidly in love." His eyes opened slowly, and met hers. Mikoto tensed, but his Sharingan did not activate, and he made no attempt to cast genjutsu over her. "Tell me, Mikoto. Who was right about you? The elders, or me?"

She smiled sadly, and readied her blade. "Neither."

|x|

Root agents who had been watching over the Uchiha compound for this moment, were vaguely surprised when the entire place went up in flames, as if multiple high level katon jutsus had been used at once, or in quick succession of each other.

They glanced from side to side, and at one another, before stilling in what was their version of a shrug. Their orders had been to alert Danzo-sama when the massacre began, which they had done. There had been no other orders than that, so as the compound burned, they were kind of at a loss as of what to do.

( _Mikoto smirked as she fled the burning wreckage of the compound._

Well, Danzo, _she thought._ Let us see how many eyes you can get out of **that**. _)_

|x|

Itachi had been prepared to torture his brother, prepared to make Sasuke hate him all in order to encourage his precious brother to grow stronger in order to defeat him, and then the Akatsuki.

He had been prepared for these things, but he would be lying if he said he did not very much prefer the particular outcome he was living in right now.

Yes, he was going to join with the Akatsuki, but Sasuke would not hate him, would not be alone, and one day, he would be welcomed home, if all went according to plan.

His grief was strong - even if the clan had been disillusioned, they _had_ been his family - but he felt warm with the knowledge that his brother would grow up safe and happy, and that Konoha would stand strong.

|x|

Sasuke awoke in a house that wasn't his own, with the knowledge that his clan was dead.

"Hey, sweetie," the voice was sweet, low and warm, and vaguely familiar. Sasuke blinked eyes that he hadn't realised had welled up with tears, and focused his gaze on the woman who sat beside the bed where he'd been sleeping.

She had red hair, and a nostalgic smile.

"Uzumaki-san," he said, recognising her from when she had come to pick Naruto up from the academy at times.

She waved her arms through the air. "Call me Kushina, Sasuke-chan," she smiled at him, before becoming more serious, more solemn and sad. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Itachi killed the clan," he spoke dully, and wondered why the words, the memories, didn't hurt as much as he thought they should've. "Mother told me to run, and I ran here."

Kushina tensed, her face going bone-white pale. "We haven't found your mother yet, Sasuke-chan," she told him gently. "And your brother fled. There's only you, for now - you'll be staying with us, though."

Sasuke blinked, the words not quite registering. It was hard to think, his brain felt shattered and then glued and held back together by cotton wool. "Us?" he asked, and wondered, again, why he felt so calm. His clan was dead, he'd seen them _murdered_ , and now his brother, the killer, was on the run and his mother - _run_ \- who had last seen in Itachi's company, was missing.

"Minato, Naruto, and I," she answered. "That's not a problem, is it?"

Sasuke quickly shook his head. "I don't want to be a bother, though. I'll be fine by myself, so you can just send me back to the compound..." he trailed off at the look on Kushina's face.

"Don't be stupid," she scolded him flatly. "Sasuke, _you're seven_. Your entire extended family just _died_ , and you _watched it happen_. We're not leaving you alone to stew, and we're not sending you back to the compound - we can't, anyway, as Itachi burnt it down before he fled. You'll stay here and grieve and be safe with us, until we can find your mother, okay?"

Numbly, Sasuke nodded. "Okay."

Kushina smiled, and placed a gentle hand on his arm. "Come downstairs when you think you're ready. There's food, and Naruto's been worried about you, you know?"

Sasuke blinked, and she was already halfway out the door when "...why?"

Kushina tilted her head at him. "Because you're his best friend, silly."

|x|

 _Mikoto panted as she pushed her body to the limits. She had to hurry, had to get out of range of Konoha's scouts._

 _Had to hurry, to get back to Sasuke faster._

 _The scroll that held Shisui's eye sealed within it was heavy within her pocket, and Mikoto knew she didn't have much time before Danzo, discontent with not being able to claim any Sharingan from the corpses of the fallen Uchiha, would soon make his next move - this time, on her youngest son._

 _She had to hurry, and find Tsunade._

 **|_-X][x][X-_|**

 **|o|**

This is going to be entirely AU.

I have a lot of beefs with the Naruto franchise, despite my love of it, and one of my main ones is ' _why the hell did Itachi put Shisui's eye in a freaking bird on the off chance he would have to use Kotoamatsukami on Sasuke?_ ' Did he know Sasuke would turn against Konoha? What was the point of that? _Why a freaking bird?_ So, because after reading 'Team Tensai,' I fell in love with Mikoto, I decided to write a story where she lives. And then I saw a picture of Sasuke and Rin (from Blue Exorcist) in which Sasuke had kitty ears and both were surrounded by blue fire which gave me _ideas_ , and then I played Until Dawn, and basically everything snowballed from there.

Confused? Good.

Because I am incapable of writing anythin remotely short or fluffy without getting carried away, fair warning - this will be plotty as hell, completely disregard canon for the most part (not just in plot but in mechanics because I have a crap memory and can't be bothered to go diving in the mountain of source material), be filled with complex logical reasoning, political intrigue, unreliable narrators, character miscommunications, and more sides than a dohecahedron. It will not, however, have romance (probably).

I change tense and POV on a dime without even realising, and lack the ability to balance humour with seriousness. If you didn't like this chapter, you probably won't like the rest of the story.

Basic premise is this: Madara (actually Obito) decided against attempting to steal the kyuubi at Naruto's birth. Instead, he decided to go through the bijuu in order from weakest to strongest (one tails onwards) so Gaara is not a jinchuuriki in this, I guess. The fact that the Uchiha have the ability is still revealed and thus they are still not trusted. I won't go into any further detail here because spoilers. You'll just have to read once more is posted.

I have read many fanfics in which they refer to a Vague Council of "Evulz" (And Vagueness), but as far as I'm aware there isn't one in canon, it's just widely accepted fanon? Like, there are elders in canon and stuff, but this council apparently has the power to overrule the Hokage, which _what_ , considering this is a psuedo-military dictatorship culture (from what I can see, at least). So the council in this is made up of various groups who speak for the people and the 'elders.' They have votes and stuff, but their main job is to advise and consel the Hokage, who has both the final word and the ability to overrule whatever.

ANBU is the main military force and black ops of Konohagakure. They are the elite. The Military Police (MP) are the next rung of armed forces. They are not 'grunts,' but the ground forces, and not all are shinobi, unlike ANBU. The Domestic Police (DP, sometimes reffered to as the 'civvie forces) deal with internal crimes and crimes commited by non-shinobi - civilain murders, domestic disputes, robberies (in the case they are not commited by shinobi, in which case the MP would be called in).

Seriously though, canon die hards - please refrain from 'that is not what happened,' or 'that's not hiw it worked in the manga/anime.' I probably already know, and I definitely do not care.

(I really need to stop posting new stories...I'm pretty sure I have things on this account htat haven't been updated since 2013... DX)


	2. Chapter 2

("i'll protect you with my life. i will not allow my comrades to die. trust me.)  
("feel pain, contemplate pain, accept pain, _know pain_.")  
("you and i are flesh and blood. i'm always going to be there for you, even if only as an obstacle for you to overcome. even if you do hate me, i'll still be there. after all, that's what brothers are for.")

_[|x|]_

 _ **The Akatsuki, The Academy & ANBU**_ **; a Secondary Prologue** **  
**(alternatively titled; three a's for effort because you fail at everything else: an study on our main cast)

|x|

 _In one world, Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze die within an hour of their firstborn son's birth._

 _In one world, Itachi Uchiha is left alone to watch over his brother as the adults of the clan leave to fight a Tailed Beast, the Kyuubi, the Nine-Tailed Fox._

 _In that specific world, these actions have far-reaching consequences._

 _But in another world, the watchers Obito Uchiha, having taken his one-time mentors and ancestors identity as Madara, sent to Konoha in order to watch over the pregnant Uzumaki in order to take the Bijuu from her and blacken the Uchiha name at the most critical moment, sent word to him too late, and Kushina's loosened seal was fixed by her husband before the Uchiha could arrive._

 _In this specific world, these actions would also have far reaching consequences._

 _For Obito was not done. He may have not been able to claim the Kyuubi or use the beast to raze Konoha, but he would leave his clan with a little…parting gift._

 _A few whispered words here, a slight genjutsu there, and hatred against the Uchiha would grow, would swell through the years until it reached a boiling point of bloodshed and violence among still smouldering ashes._

 _And when sorrow and hatred was all that remained on whatever remnants there were of the once mighty Uchiha, Obito –_ _ **Madara**_ _– would swoop in, and show his family the only path left to them._

 _The path of destruction, hatred and revenge that had haunted their clan in a never ending cycle, like a curse since the first Madara._

 _The path of an_ _ **avenger**_ _._

[x]

Kushina Uzumaki barely surpressed the urge to coo at Sasuke as he stared at her from across her kitchen counter, part moody in that way that only Uchiha's had ever been able to accomplish, and part pleading in a way that only seven year olds could pull off.

" _Please_ , Uzumaki-san," he all but begged. "Just let me go back to the Academy. If I don't attend classes, I'll fall behind!"

Kushina felt a scowl, disturbingly similar to the one that Sasuke was sporting, begin to form on her face. "Not yet, Sasuke."

"But _why not_?"

Sasuke, to Kushina, seemed honestly at a loss as to why she was barring him from going back to school, nevermind that the massacre had only happened one week ago - he was 'fine.'

Yeah, no. The only thing that kid was, was bizarrely high-functioning. He didn't _seem_ to be in denial, and he had expressed grief over the slaughter of his clan, but other than an eerie, silent stilness for his first two days in the Namikaze-Uzumaki household, and a near constant concern for his mother, Sasuke seemed as if nothing in his life had changed.

It was confusing, and worrying, and reminded Kushina far, far too much of Kakashi. Heavens knew that she loved the kid - as her husbands student, he'd been around a lot - but his way of grieving and then dealing wasn't exactly the healthiest, to put it mildly, and it _hurt_ Kushina to see a sweet child such as Sasuke harden himself in the same way.

None of these reasons would mean anything to Sasuke, however, so Kushina offered up the only thing she could think of that would make him listen. "You awakened your Sharingan during the massacre, Sasuke-kun," she said gently (on the fifth day of Sasuke's stay at the Namikaze-Uzumaki household, he'd finally protested the honorific of -chan he'd been given by Kushina, and not wanting to push the boy when he was already so on edge, she'd aquiecsed). "With you not yet knowing how to control it, sending you to the Academy could be dangerous. It would be best if we kept you from doing any strenuous work like the Academy would demand until you've at least got down the basics."

A look of vicious satisfaction had flitted across Sasuke's face as she started her sentence, but it had faded to a vague look of confusion and worry - an almost completely encompassing look of _loss_ \- as she had continued.

"But who will teach me?" he asked quietly. "Besides Itachi, there's no-one else left."

Kushina winced. Technically, Sasuke was right. Even though the red haired woman firmly believed her once friend and teammate was still alive, somewhere, Mikoto was a Uchiha by name and vow only. She possessed no dojutsu, no Sharingan - even if she came back tomorrow, she could not teach her son how to use his bloodline limit.

It was a good thing, then, that there was someone else in Konoha who could.

|x|

Kakashi Hatake stared blankly at the Yondaime Hokage, the man who had been his sensei, and was still both the closest thing he had to family and the man he trusted above all others still alive in the world, and for the first time in years (since that purely evil bell test, back with his first and most precious and missed team), questioned Minato Namikaze's sanity.

"Wha-"

"I need you to teach Sasuke Uchiha how to harness his Sharingan, or at the very least bring it under control. He keeps activating it accidentally out of instinct - the kid is twitchy as hell, and with good reason - but then he has no idea how to turn it off. He's spending each day barely above chakra exhaustion, and it's driving both Kushina and Naruto mad with worry," Minato cut him off.

" _Huh_ ," Kakashi murmured. "When did Itachi activate _his_ eyes, again?"

Minato scowled. "Before he was seven, but not by much. Even with his Sharingan, though, Sasuke is pretty much just above average; the council shouldn't even register his presence."

That, while a valid point, had not been what Kakashi was getting at. "I'm probably the worst person you could pick to help him out," he said as he crossed his arms and wished that the Hokage's office had a little more furniture than just the desk Minato was positioned behind, if only so he could lean against or perch on something. "I have a bad track record with Uchiha's, sensei."

Minato sighed, and met Kakashi's eyes with his own.

The Hatake stiffened. Somehow, the Namikaze appeared to have aged around a decade over a period of days.

"Kakashi," Minato said lowly. "This kid's entire family is dead, all because I couldn't find a resolution that didn't beget bloodshed. He's staying with me now, you know? Kushina was friends with his mother, or something, and so she's all but adopted him. Naruto pretty much _has_ adopted him - I wouldn't be surprised if he starts introducing Sasuke to strangers on the street as ' _my brother_.' And I go home everynight, and I look at this little boy struggling not to intrude on my family, trying not to impose, trying not to let his grief interupt our lives, and I hate myself. If I could teach him myself, I would, but I can't. I'm sorry to ask this of you Kakashi, but please?"

Kakashi sighed. "I'll have my mask in by the end of the day." The words were painful to speak. For so long, ANBU had been all he had really, outside of Minato and Kushina (and Gai, but Kakashi would never admit that). In ANBU, death was an expected outcome of a mission, with no crushing guilt to fall upon the survivors due to team members not being prepared for the eventuality of their demise.

Kakashi had been there, after all, in the aftermath of the slaughter Itachi had cut through his clan's compound. He knew, of course, the reason _why_ Itachi had done what he had done - and one day, Danzo would _pay_ for his crimes, pay for all the ways Kakashi had failed _yet again_ , failed Obito, failed Rin, failed Minato, and failed Itachi as his comrade - but that didn't lessen the impact or horror of the act, especially not for Sasuke, who had seen the majority of the massacre and had no idea the true reasoning behind it.

So, the situation was this: a young, traumatised child, angry and grieving and confused, from Minato's words, who was holding it in admirably well (more than likely due to that strict clan upbringing), and was worried about his mother, who had still yet to be found. Due to this, whoever came along to teach him to control his Sharingan had to be three things; empathetic (but without pity), confident (without being arrogant or overbearing), and trustworthy.

Three things an ANBU operative was definitely not. Therefore, the mask had to go.

As Minato thanked him for his service to the village and lowered his rank down to a plain old jounin (he sighed mentally as he realised he'd now be assigned little baby genin, how _fun_ ), Kakashi wondered just how badly he'd fuck this one up. Or, on the other side, how badly this one would fuck _him_ up. The Uchiha, after all, had a bad track record with Kakashi, just as he'd told Minato.

A bad track record of breaking his heart.

He'd never loved any of the Uchiha he'd grown close to - not like _that_ , at least. Kakashi could honestly say he'd never felt like _that_ about anyone (Rin had been more of a fledgling crush then anything, and he'd destroyed any hope of that blossoming into anything more with his own hands), and except for a few kisses here and there sprung on him by surprise and for covers on missions, he was completely unexperienced. Anyone who knew the ANBU - jounin, now - from encounter alone would probably laugh at this fact: Hatake Kakashi, biggest pervert to grace the borders of Konohagakure since Jiraiya-sama himself, was in fact a virgin. Only one person in the entirety of the world knew that truth, and for all his faults if there was one thing Gai was, it was trustworthy. He knew and understood just how Kakashi felt about sharing his bed, sharing his body, and sharing his heart.

Obito had been a wound he hadn't noticed until it was already far too late. Kakashi hadn't appreciated what he had with his teammate until he was gasping and pinned under rock, telling a tearful Rin to give Kakashi his recently awakened kekkei genkai so that the two of them, at least, could make it out with a bloody, weak smile on his face. That Sharingan eye still burned vivid red within Kakashi's left eye socket, a perpetual reminder of his greatest personal failing as well as a promise. He had inherited more than just an eye from Obito, he had inherited a dream, a wish, and one day he _would_ see it through.

After Obito, Kakashi had been in much the same boat Sasuke was now, returning to Konoha with one eye now a permanent red. The Uchiha clan had been outraged, for even though Obito had never been a very good Uchiha, that clan was solidarity through and through and a loss or wound to one was the same to all. The offense of an outsider taking one of their precious eyes, especially from Obito who had strived to awaken his for so long, was almost unbelievable. But Minato had spoken up for him to the Sandaime, and eventually the Uchiha had to let it go. The problem of the Sharingan didn't go away, however. For Kakashi it would always be activated as one not of the Uchiha clan could not fully control the legendary dojutsu, but he could still lessen the chakra drain, and learn how to use it in battle. For the most part, the Hatake _was_ self-taught. But there had been a Uchiha, an elder - Tajima, named after an ancestor from before even the legendary Madara, before the clan had truly been a clan. Tajima had taken a young Kakashi under his wing and taught him what he needed to know so Obito's gift would not kill him, and died shortly afterwards - a new wound, new layer of hurt and loss stretching over the patches of scar tissue on his soul that were his father and Obito.

Itachi had been young, skilled and serious beyond his years, and a member of ANBU. Kakashi and he had never been close, but Kakashi would be lying if he said he didn't feel a kinship with the younger shinobi, and on the few missions they had had together their conversations had been light-hearted in a way Kakashi had long since thought impossible for ANBU. This new wound was small and slight and barely even noticeable, but with the potential to fissure into something far worse - for what came with Itachi, always, everywhere, was Sasuke.

Kakashi didn't know much about Sasuke. He was small, he was cute, he adored his big brother and strove for the approval of his father and his clan. With all but the first two brutally torn from him, the last thing he needed was a trauma and loss scarred shinobi trying to mentor him (and more than likely feed his trauma, rather than fix it).

But orders were orders, and Obito's eye throbbed in time with his already weeping and aching heart underneath his tilted forehead-protector, reminding Kakashi of the duty, the burden that he would always carry for as long as he had said eye.

So as Kakashi wandered off, in the direction of the Namikaze-Uzumaki household where Sasuke was staying, he wondered, baffled, the best way to go about this.

Ninken, he finally decided. Those bullshit therapists he had been sent to as a kid had always talked about the positive effects animal companions had on traumatised children. Clan kids probably had a whole different scale applied to them, but his ninken weren't just dogs.

They were ninja dogs, and Pakkun could just shut up and deal with the kid as well as he would any other mission from the Hokage.

[x]

In Amegakure, it was always raining.

It was a necessary measure, and Konan had long since grown used to it - after all, it had been like that all her life, for as long as she could remember, and before even that.

They weren't known as the village hidden in the rain for nothing.

Still, sometimes she found herself wishing for clear skies, blue as far as the eyes can see, framed by the leaves of a redwood forest. She had no honest idea of what this would look like - but Jiraiya-sensei had described it well, all those years ago, before he had abandoned them.

In Ame, skies were never blue and the only greenery were the aquatic vines that crept up the sides of the fortress that was their city. Konan could appreciate the beauty of the grit and grey that was Ame, but not the monotony of it - the monotony they were striving to change.

The Akatsuki had long since been corrupted; in the minds of the nations, in who they recruited, in the means they employed to reach their end. But that _end_ had never changed, that one ideal had not been let go of and forgotten just yet, and Konan clung to that fact, clung to it like she had not clung to anything since the loss of Yahiko.

"Tenshi!"

The voice was young, and warm, and brought a faint smile to Konan's face as it brought to mind happier, halcyon days.

"Yes?" She called down to the young girl who had called for her, smiling instead of wincing at the name like she wanted to - she was far from an angel of any sort, except perhaps death. The people of Ame should not raise her up as their idol. But Nagato had felt that it was a good idea, and he was already so fragile these days in both body and mind that Konan had not fought it. So now, she was the Lady Angel, Guardian of Ame, and apparently a new one had spawned - the Akatsuki's Messenger.

"There's a guy at the borders," the girls eyes were wide. "He's standing just outside of the chakra-rain, just staring. Pa sent us kids as runners to find you."

Konan frowned. An outsider, knowledgeable enough to know where the rain and the chakra-rain differentiated?

No, impossible.

That left only one option - a chakra sensor of some sort.

Konan gritted her teeth. A _shinobi_.

"Thank you, little one." She smiled warmly. "It will be dealt with. Hurry along home." The girl smiled as Konan's vision blurred into white and then a million facets, paper shredding, and then reforming, folding, into the aerodynamic shape of a deceptively delicate bird, partway dove, partway sparrow.

This form, a part of her Shikigami no Mai, is faster than most shinobi could hope to be on their feet, even when boosted with chakra, as the wind and rain both slip around her, bending to their master's will as he watches from his tower.

She is at the village's limits within a minute.

She spots the 'guy' almost immediately, and is surprised. She had expected an adult, an enemy - and while he may still be the latter, he is certainly not the former. His form and demeanour do a good job of hiding it, but Konan has become skilled at reading the truth hidden beneath posturing over the years, and she pegs this boy as fifteen at the most, if that.

More surprises followed - red and black whirling as he watched her warily, and Konan blinks and averts her gaze, because she knows of the Sharingan.

Knows, because Jiraiya-sensei had told them of the clans of Konoha, and the Uchiha with their dojutsu kekkei genkai, was one of them.

Her breath, catches, freezes, hitches, and wide eyes travel up, locking onto the forehead protector the boy wears.

That - that is a leaf symbol, yes, but - but with a line through it, typical sign of a nukenin.

"Akatsuki-san?" His gaze is fixed on the cloak she wears, patterned with clouds, as red and black as his eyes. "I have a proposition I think your organization would be interested in."

Deep, shuddering breaths. _Control yourself, Konan_.

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow, drawing her trembles and shakes under a mask of poised (if, admittedly, pale) skin as she stares him down.

"I wish for peace," the boy stated bluntly. "A world without bloodshed, where sacrifice for the greater good is no longer needed, where conflict between fellow men does not exist. A world my little brother can grow up in, safe and happy."

Konan's eyes widen, and she opens her mouth - to speak, to stop him from speaking, to call for Nagato; she doesn't know. She doesn't get the chance to find out, either, because he is still talking.

"My name is Itachi," he spoke in a low tone that had to have only recently developed - he barely looked done with puberty. "Once, I was a Uchiha, but I no longer have any right to that name. All I hold of my old clan is my bloodline limit, the Sharingan. If you allow me to work with you, Akatsuki-san, to help your organisation achieve its goals, then within time, I can give you what you want most from Konoha - the Nine-Tails."

[x]

(Within the heart of Ame, observing all through the liberal use and application of substitute eyes through chakra-rain, Nagato - Pein - watched over the conversation held between his dear Konan and the Konoha nukenin that had, at some point, stepped into his sphere of power.

And he smiled.)

[x]

Naruto stared at the white haired jounin that was standing at the open front door of his house, visible eye crinkled shut in what _may_ have been a smile, and standing in front of him was Sasuke, both of his visible eyes narrowed in what was _probably_ a murderous death stare wishing pain upon whoever was visiting.

"Kakashi!" His mother (who had come to escort Naruto home from the Academy, and left Sasuke back at home where he got accosted by _strange ninja_ ), at least, seemed happy to see him. But as much as Naruto loved his mum, over half a decade of experience had taught him that she was, to put it bluntly, absolutely insane. It was a good thing she'd become a full fledged kunoichi before the Sandaime had introduced the MSR (Minimum Sanity Requirement) for genin graduation and chunin advancement, because with the strict quotas and guidelines to be met these days, she probably wouldn't pass (good thing shinobi licenses didn't expire, she'd probably fail a retest).

Taking this into consideration, as well as the funny, uncomfortable feeling seeing an unknown _suspicious_ ninja near Sasuke all alone, and Naruto was inclined to agree with what he percieved was Sasuke's opinion of the man, namely _go and die. In a fire_.

(Sasuke was bizarrely fond of fire, and of burning things. Naruto had known from the Academy that the Uchiha was skilled at katon jutsus, but he hadn't known of the almost obssession his friend had with it till he had ascertained what had happened with his family's land.

 _So the entire thing was burnt down,_ he'd asked.

 _Un,_ Naruto nodded. _Right to the ground, there's absolutely nothing there now except ash_. He'd winced after finishing this sentence - his mother was always lecturing him on something she called tact, and while he didn't understand it entirely, he knew enough to know his words had been the opposite.

But Sasuke hadn't said anything at all in response to Naruto's words. _And they were all in it when it burnt down?_

Hesitantly this time, more cautious then before, Naruto had nodded once again. _Dad said all the Uchiha were razed to ash, except your mother. Don't know how, but I figure it was someone down in T &I, he's always saying how they get up to crazy things developing jutsus._

Sasuke, disturbingly, had grinned. _Good,_ he'd whispered, hands curling into fists as his body bent in half with an exhaled laugh. _Fire is the purest death. Even if_ _ **he**_ _got to them first, it is a fitting way for a Uchiha to go_.

The light in his best friends eyes had been almost manic, and Naruto had swallowed nervously.)

"Kushina," the man greeted. "He sent me to look over your new charge."

Naruto's mother smiled. "Well, it was about time," she said. She then seemingly took notice of the still glaring Sasuke, whose gaze had not moved from its fixed, unblinking position on Kakashi's back, and who was still raditating killer intent - at least, as much killer intent as a seven year old could manage. "What's wrong, Sasuke?"

Sasuke hissed like an animal, before whirling on his feet and running inside. Naruto sent a confused look at his mother before bolting after him. "Hey, Sasuke! Wait up, you bastard!"

"Naruto!" Kushina admonished. " _Language_."

"Sorry mum!" His voice was faint, echoing out to the to jounin who stood outside from the second floor of the house.

Kushina raised an eyebrow as she turned to face her husband's student, who definitely looked sheepish. "Well?" she asked. "What exactly did you do to set him off?"

Kushina wasn't annoyed at the boy, not at all. Quite the contrary, in fact - this was, perhaps, the first time since his arrival in the Namikaze-Uzumaki household that he'd shown such strong emotion, even if that viciousness wasn't exactly the change she'd been hoping for.

"I brought Pakkun with me - kids like dogs, right? And everything was going fine. I mean, that kids near robotic and his emotional... _balance_...cannot be right, but he was warming up to me a bit, cuddling Pakkun in his arms and just listening to what I had to say. Then, I let him see my Sharingan, and he just lost it. Pakkun ran off yelping the moment he got out of the kids arms, the coward."

Kushina frowned. "That can't be normal," she spoke, gazing upwards towards the second floor of her house, where Sasuke had fled to. "Wonder why?"

[x]

Sasuke could feel his breath coming hard and shallow and fast, head going light as the lack of properly deep breaths led to a lack of oxygen going to the brain.

 _Thateyethateyethateyethateyethateyethateyethateye._

 _Like_ _ **his**_ _eyes._

 _Like_ _ **my**_ _eyes._

Sasuke actually hadn't looked at his Sharingan, hadn't even thought of it yet, but he knew what he would see if he did - bright red like the blood on **his** blade, shining in the moonlight, swirling black like the blood of his family that pooled on the pavement.

He was vaguely aware of Naruto's voice buzzing through the foggy cloud of _hatefearragepaingriefconfusionlonging_ that made up his current state of mind, of being, and shied desperately away from it, from him, from the one who had said to him _since you're living with us now, we're like brothers, right?_

But what did that _mean_? _They_ had been brothers and all he had gotten out of it was eyes that he hated and a life he didn't want, not if it was at the expense of the rest of his family. If Naruto was his brother, did that mean he'd kill Uzumaki-san, who had been nothing but kind to Sasuke, or Hokage-sama, who'd cried when he'd seen Sasuke that first night after the massacre?

If being Sasuke's brother meant that he would kill his family and leave Sasuke behind, then Sasuke didn't want them to be brothers, he had one brother already, and that was enough.

To be brothers, Sasuke decided, ignoring Naruto's increasingly panicked voice as it flowed around him, meant to have the same eyes.

He could only have one brother. If he wanted Naruto to fill that place instead of _that man_ who filled his mind with broken shards, he would have to get rid of what connected him to _that man_.

He lifted up his arms in a numb sort of concentration, and pressed fingers to eyes.

 _Dug_ in.

The world flooded in, suddenly clear again, and Naruto screamed for him as blood ran down his face.


End file.
